Winter Embers
by Sakura-Syn
Summary: When the Creeper awakens before his time, He finds himself consumed by something other than hunger; though his Saviour soon becomes his destroyer.
1. The Awakening

_A/N: I am a little unsure if I should continue with this. A little feedback would be most appreciated and would give me a feel of whether the story should be continued or not. _

~oOo~

This wasn't fear.

Fear drove him, sustained him, but this, this was something else. It excited him, perplexed him and ignited a new hunger, one that roared from the darkness deep within him.

_Winter Embers  
><em>_~oOo~_

The scent of winter hung effortlessly in the air, moving freely on the breeze across the twilight skies. The intense cold made his sleep fitful until finally he awoke. His withered body ached and his hunger was unbearable. It wasn't his time, not yet, though time was a concept the Creeper didn't fully understand. He slept, he awoke and once his hunger was satisfied he slept again. The cycle repeated without fail, twenty three years of death for every twenty three days of life; until now.

~oOo~

There had been whispers and murmurings over the years. Stories that had been passed down from generation to generation, myths and legends, rumours of a demon's existence; tales of a demon that feasted upon the hearts of mortal men, that bathed in the blood of his chosen few and wore their skin like armour. The modern world had credited these stories, these myths created over time to over active imaginations and drug fuelled delusions of the weak. There were few that knew the truth; for their sins.

Kali had known the demon had awoken when the earth trembled with fear beneath her feet and the star speckled sky shrieked with terror. She chuckled softly to herself as she glanced up to the moon, knowing that he would seek her out eventually. With a gentle shrug of her shoulders her wings unfolded and spread out behind her. Within seconds she took to the skies with the silver moonlight casting her shadow across the untouched snow beneath her.

~oOo~

The Creeper's dry and damaged skin tore away from his body with even the smallest of movements. Pain ripped through him, contorting his face as he struggled to his feet. The ground was colder than he remembered and the faint traces of breath hung in front of his eyes as fine mist. He inhaled deeply, tasting the delights that the breeze had to offer. There seemed to be nothing of any real interest for miles around, save for the scent of distant fear. He inhaled again, ignoring the burning chill in his withered lungs. As the seconds and minutes passed, his senses grew sharper. The scent of fear grew stronger; causing his pale, dead eyes to cloud over with deadly intent. Gingerly but with an increasing sense of purpose, the Creeper made his way from his resting place. Solid, frozen ground gave way to snow almost three inches deep and the sudden, intense chill sent shivers racing up and down his crumbling spine. His grey lips curled into a snarl as his torn wings erupted from his back, causing him to roar in pain. The ravens that stood guard over his grave scattered into the sky, each in search of what the Creeper desired most.

The longer he waited, the weaker he felt. His body trembled with hunger and cold; then without warning, he dropped to one knee, shivering in the gentle wind. The cold ate at him, ravaged him until the distant call of the Raven snapped him from his daze. They'd found what he had begun to crave. With one mighty flap of his wings, the demon took flight, splitting the eerie peace of the night with a terrifying roar.


	2. The Raven & The Crucifix

From a branch high above he watched them; how they moved, how they breathed, how their sins shaped the shadows that were cast out behind them, stretched and twisted before being consumed by the darkness that surrounded them. He heard their hushed whispers though he didn't understand their words, he didn't care to. He was there for one thing and one thing only; to feast upon the damned.

He inhaled deeply, ignoring the burning in his lungs as the winter chill carried their scents. Their sins called to him in the darkness, their hypocrisy sang to him and enchanted him more than any song could. He growled softly as he allowed his eyes to close and his body to listen. Their hushed tones became softer and almost silent as the breeze carried the sounds of prayer filled paper high into the bare bones of the trees. The Creeper smiled as his steel coloured eyes opened to the repetitive melody of petition. It was time.

The two figures, a man and a woman knelt beside each other in the snow, their hands entwined and their heads bowed in prayer. From high above them the call of the raven sounded a loud and shrieking sound that caused the woman to startle.

"Ruth, be still your racing heart. You will not be able to hear the word of the Lord if you are being deafened by the Devil."

Ruth nodded silently and cast her eyes skywards for a brief moment before returning to her prayers. A wave of uneasiness crashed over her, causing her to tremble in the cold. Josef gripped her hand tightly and continued the prayer for his soul. One of the ravens swooped down from a bare branch and landed opposite them, cawing throughout their Mantra. Another arrived, joining in the chorus, and another and another until at least two dozen ravens circled the duo. Ruth opened her eyes and screamed breaking Josef from his intense concentration. His eyes snapped open, anger etched on to his face. He was just about to turn and chastise her but then he saw what she was screaming at. The Ravens scattered into the air, moving in all directions around them, forcing them to lose their grip on each other. The Demon swooped down from his hiding place, landing before them on one knee. His eyes burned into them, staring into their rotten cores.

Neither Ruth nor Josef noticed him at first; both were too pre-occupied with the swarm of black feathers that encompassed them. Their shrieks of terror awoke Miriam from her restless dreams. Quickly she scrambled from her makeshift bed and out of the wagon. The birds quickly circled her, clawing at her before she found cover behind the boxes her father had unloaded from their vessel.

The Creeper sniffed the air, latching onto the fear that poured out of Ruth in abundance. He lunged for her, cutting through the air as precisely as the birds that surrounded him. Josef caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and threw himself between his wife and her attacker. The Creeper careered into him, sending both bodies flying backwards into the side of the wagon. The vehicle flipped, the wooden panels breaking and splintering like sugar paper. The impact left Josef crumpled in a heap and the Creeper standing over him. Miriam gasped and made a run for her father. Ruth caught her around the middle and shouted through the furious flutter of wings and squawking of birds, terror screaming through the words.

"Miriam, RUN!"

The Creeper turned to face both mother and daughter upon seeing that Josef was neither moving nor held any significance for him. Ruth shoved Miriam, forcing the young girl to break out into a run. The demon ignored the blonde girl. Ruth was the one he'd came here for, her flesh was the flesh he wanted to gorge himself on; it was Ruth that would be the first person to satisfy him after his slumber. He snarled as the clawed wings on his face expanding and opening up for the first time in over a decade. Ruth visibly shook with fear. He approached, his steel gaze fixed upon her through the torrent of birds. Josef; dazed and bruised came up behind him, armed with a shattered plank from the side of the wagon. The Creeper knew he was there and with one swoop of his arm brushed him aside; sending him hurtling into a tree. From the darkness there was a gasp followed by a deep groan before the clearing fell silent; the ravens disappearing into the shadows.

Ruth dropped to her knees, feeling around in the snow for her husband's bible. Any hope of salvation was slipping through her fingers like the melting snow. The creature grabbed her by the hair; dragging her from her knees with a tug of his arm. He grinned, flashing his yellowed and rotting teeth to the woman who remained quivering within his iron grip. For a split second their eyes locked and for what felt like an eternity the air fell silent. Her glassy eyes begged him, pleaded with him for mercy but there was none; for the creeper snarled and lunged forward, fangs exposed as the ravens scattered skyward and the woman's blood drenched screams dripped from the cradle of the crescent moon. The demon feasted; the way he tore at the flesh of her throat, the muscles of her upper arms and chest, it was clear he was driven by and his actions dominated by pure animalistic hunger. The Creeper's victim clawed at his arms, her movements erratic and frightfully desperate despite the viciousness that ripped into her. A thousand images flashed through her mind before her gaze fixated on a single point behind her attacker. A single tear trickled down her cheek, cutting a delicate pathway through the blood that splattered her face. Miriam starred back at her.

The young girl watched with horror as the demon feasted upon her mother. Tears welled in her unblinking eyes; she daren't move or even breathe for fear of the demon seeking her out. The longer she watched, the more her heart raced until it finally broke when Ruth's gaze fell upon her. Miriam found her breath hitching in her throat. Desperately she wanted to fight off her mother's attacker, to protect her as she had once been protected but fear had found her rooted firmly to the spot, huddled behind the remains of the wagon that carried them through the winter forest.

The demon paused only to deeply inhale the rich copper scent of fresh blood that was entwined and knotted with the intoxicating vapours of Ruth's fear. He could feel his body rebuilding within seconds of tasting her crimson nectar. He roared in ecstasy as the blood dripped from his chin and splattered against his chest like the spring rains he was used to. He felt alive. With each drum of his heart, he felt Ruth's life slip away from her until the blood pumping from the gaping wound in her neck slowed to a painful stop. He pulled back and looked into her vacant eyes. Instead of seeing the fear filled expression of the dammed, an expression he craved, he saw that she looked oddly at peace and her vision fixed elsewhere. Miriam's gaze remained on her mother; even after the Creeper dropped Ruth's body into the snow, leaving it in a crumpled and bloody heap. His head snapped around to see what or who she was staring at but he saw nothing. Where a fire once danced in the night, illuminating the shadows and banishing their presence beyond the reaches of its touch, logs lay smouldering with their essence drifting into the chilled air. The clearing was silent save for the heavy, exhausted breathing of the creeper and the flutter of raven wings high overhead.

Miriam's eyes flickered back and forth between the bloody carcass and the vicious jaws of death; her heart hammering against her ribs. She was almost certain the creeper could hear the blood rushing around her body and the scent of fear as it oozed from her body. He stared at her but didn't see her; she held her breath as he advanced closer, his increasing body weight leaving deeper and deeper imprints in the snow with each step. Miriam buried her head into her knees and held her breath in deadly expectation.

"Be … Gone … Demon"

The raspy voice from mid-way up a tree startled Miriam as much as it did the creeper. The beast turned quickly and stared up at the body impaled on the twisted branches. Thickening blood dripped slowly from the gnarled wood that protruded grotesquely from Josef's chest. His body hung loosely around it, his legs limp and numb and clutched within his weakening grasp, a silver cross that had once been a gift from his Mother. He raised his arm gingerly, drawing the object in his hand to the demon's face.

"Be ... Gone … Demon … God … Commands … You."

Blood oozed from the corners of his mouth and rose like agonizing fire in his throat with each word spoken into the night. His arm grew shaky and weak through loss of blood and his grip loosened still. The Demon watched him, his head falling to one side and grey, dead eyes narrowing in concentration. Josef, devout in his faith struggled to present to cross further to the Creeper as the pain emanating from his chest increased ten-fold. The Creeper looked down at the object and smiled before it slipped through Josef's fingers and into the snow along with his last breath.

Miriam watched as the cross tumbled from her father's grip and vanished into the ruby speckled blanket of snow. She stared, unmoving as the demon crushed it into the ground. She ignored the sound of the Ravens as they called out to the Creeper from the shadow, as he turned and advanced upon her. Everything she had known had been ripped away from her and crushed underfoot like her grandmother's crucifix. The demon could smell her now, the rich scents of her despair and loss; they made him quiver with excitement. He had killed her parents for a purpose, to quench his thirst for blood but this; this was for the outright thrill of it. Suddenly aware of what was happening; Miriam looked up, panic and fear etched across her childlike face. Quickly she scrambled from her hiding place to the base of the tree beneath the hanging corpse of her father, sending a flurry of snow into the air behind her. The creature roared and chased after her, snatching her by the hair as her fingers found the twisted crucifix. The creature roared again and leapt into the air, his leather like wings unfolding behind him. Miriam screamed as she rose with him, leaving the slain behind her and the crucifix slipping through her fingers. 


End file.
